The city looks different on the night of a festival. Everything has a kind of sheen to it. Girls are smilier, lights are brighter, and pupils are wide in anticipation of one big thing; the afterparty.

The who’s who of Parklife’s 2009 bash made a beeline for Roxanne Parlour on Saturday night to keep the party going. Tiga pulled up after his massive effort at Parklife to headline Afterlife, and he brought some of his mates with him.

Standing in the elevator heading up to Roxanne’s, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in the wrong place. Cruising past the second floor the sound of cheesy R&B permeated the lift, bringing a look of fear to the faces of the eager travelers. Finally you hit the third floor, the doors fly open and you’re greeted by Harris Robotis kicking it in the main room.

The first to the party took their time getting into the swing of things. Most people’s first mission was to get a cold beer in their hand, find a comfy seat and chill out. Harris Robotis played to the vibe of the crowd, building up the intensity of his beats as time went on. The Melbourne local got people out of their vegetated state, on their feet and moving to the music again- just in time for the main game.

The back room provided an assigned ‘space out’ area, with heaps of cushy lounges, big open spaces and boppy music to match. The Rapture followed Robotis’s lead and started off mellow with Holy Ghost!’s version of The Deep End. Most of The Rapture’s set had a beautiful undertone to it centered around melodic vocals, but of course the finale was a little different. The Rapture said goodnight with a tried and tested hit, blasting Fake Blood’s Mars. It probably wasn’t received as well as was hoped, partly due to the fact that Backup was the unofficial anthem of last year’s Parklife, and partly because Tiga was playing to a packed room next door.

Part of that statement isn’t true, however. Tiga didn’t play to a packed room; it was overflowing. For the entire set the dancefloor, the lounge area and every other inch of flooring was covered in dancing, sweaty kids. Some of the lucky ones were face to face with the DJ, jumping around on the massive podium in front of the main decks. Tiga was never timid or mellow, but instead blasted through the hours with heavy beats and a wide range of styles. The seasoned pro didn’t sound like he was even trying; he seamlessly moved between songs, styles and sounds like a master. It looked like he was having fun, and the feeling was mutual.

Following an homage to Daft Punk, playing the original Around the World, Tiga signed off with one of his own hits, Sex O’Clock. As the ultimate finale, Tiga did something I haven’t witnessed before. He took the chill option and instead of blasting his way out, played a beautifully slow reggae tune with a bit of a dnb edge. His set was bliss; happy, effortless and severely Tiga.
Following a Tiga set would send some men packing, but not Claude VonStroke. He took to the stage in the main room surrounded by beautiful people. For most of his set four glamazons wriggled and grinded their way around him like they had been sucked into orbit. He mostly kept with a distinctive minimal sound, yet it was still bouncy. It was refreshing to hear something a little different after enduring the whirlwind that is the Parklife experience.

It was a shame to see the audience thin out through Claude VonStroke’s set, though it was completely understandable considering that most of the people there had been dancing for up to eighteen hours straight. Now that’s a lot of Red Bull.